Sun Paper, in close collaboration with ABB, has successfully launched another pulp mill, at the new Beihai location in Guangxi, China. ABB has installed three sets of its flagship distributed control system (DCS) ABB Ability System 800xA, two sets of mechanical pulp drive systems, four refiner motors and auxiliary high-voltage cabinets, and over 30 high and low-voltage motors.

The Beihai mill currently produces 600,000 tons of bleached mechanical pulp (APMP line and BCTMP line) and 800,000 tons of bleached pulp (BKP). The combined daily production capacity across the three lines reaches up to 4,200 air-dried tons and currently represents the largest pulp production capacity among comparable lines in the global market.

In addition to DCS implementation, the mill will integrate ABB's Relion 615 protection and control series of relays with the 800xA for both the APMP and BCTMP mechanical pulp production lines, together with Load Commuted Inverter (LCI) drives solution. This will enable soft starting for multi-motors connections, significantly reducing the start and stop impact of the refiner motors on power grid to ensure production safety and stability.

ABB was able to meet Sun Paper's objective to strengthen the interconnection between the DCS and laboratory data, and gain access to the status monitoring of the refiner motor system. This achieved system-wide centralized information management, helping managers understand on-site conditions in real time to support their pulp production decisions. They can also manage remote operation and configuration using mobile devices such as tablets and phones, which improves the collaboration and convenience of the system. This advanced setup of the DCS safeguards production stability and lays a solid foundation for future expansion and other digital solutions.

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